Basilique Saint-Martin

The Basilique Saint-Martin in Tours is a large Neo-Byzantine church built over the tomb of Saint Martin, the Roman soldier who became bishop of Tours in the fourth century and one of the most venerated saints in Europe. Martin is best remembered for cutting his cloak in two to share it with a beggar at the gates of Amiens, a scene that has been shown in countless paintings, and his shrine at Tours became a major pilgrimage destination in the Middle Ages, on the roads that led to Santiago de Compostela. His feast day, 11 November, is still marked across France and beyond.

A huge medieval abbey church once stood here, one of the greatest in Christendom, but it was ruined by the Wars of Religion and the French Revolution and demolished in the early nineteenth century. Two towers survive from it, the Tour Charlemagne and the Tour de l'Horloge, the Clock Tower, which stand a short distance from the present basilica and give a sense of the scale of the lost building. The tomb of Saint Martin was rediscovered in 1860, in cellars under a street, and this find led to the cult being revived and a new church planned.

The new basilica was designed by the architect Victor Laloux, who also designed the Gare d'Orsay in Paris, and was built between 1886 and 1924. Its style is a mixture of Romanesque and Byzantine, with a high dome, sturdy walls and a tall bell tower, and it contrasts strongly with the Gothic outlines of the Cathédrale Saint-Gatien nearby. Inside, the large nave is decorated with finely carved capitals in neo-Romanesque style and a frieze of foliage, and the windows tell scenes from the life of Saint Martin. The crypt, reached from the church, holds the saint's tomb and relics, and it is the destination of pilgrims who come to pray.

The basilica is open every day, and entry is free. It is a place of worship, so visitors should be quiet and respectful during services. A visit of thirty minutes to an hour will include the nave and the crypt. Mass is celebrated regularly, and the schedule is posted at the entrance.

It suits pilgrims, lovers of nineteenth-century church architecture and anyone interested in the history of Tours. It stands near the Place Plumereau and the old town, and the Cathédrale Saint-Gatien and the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Tours are a short walk away.